Asian population booming in Frederick County

WASHINGTON – Ethnic diversity is typically the norm for big cities. Now it’s happening in rural Frederick County, Md.

Elizabeth Chung, executive director of the Asian American Center of Frederick, says the county’s Asian population has now grown to more than 10,000.

“We have about 4,000-ish Indians, and close to that is Korean,” says Chung, listing people groups that make up a large part of the total. “The third one is Chinese.”

Chung says cost of living is the main reason many Asians move to Frederick County. The residents are coming to the area as part of a secondary migration from Montgomery County, Prince George’s County and Baltimore County.

Perhaps the most surprising statistic? Burma is the country supplying the largest influx of immigrants to the county.

WTOP’s David Burd contributed to this report. Follow David Burd and WTOP on Twitter.